Autumn Happenings
by Wings of Reparation
Summary: It's Sunday and Misao is bored at home. She intends to do something about that.


Boredom was one word to describe how Misao was feeling at this very moment. Today was Sunday and there was nothing to do! She called Ayano, but she had already made plans with her boyfriend to go to the mall. None of her online friends were on, Kagami wasn't picking up her phone, and her family had gone off somewhere without her while she had napped on the couch. In short, she was alone **and** bored; what a terrifying combination.

_I guess I'll just go outside and walk around until I can think of something else to do. It beats sticking around here._

Misao ran upstairs to her room to dress appropriately for the cold weather outside. Fall was particularly colder this season than the previous year. As she wrapped a scarf around her neck in front of her dresser mirror, her eyes glanced at the photo stuck on the reflective glass. It was a picture of Kagami, Ayano, and Misao a few years younger. She smiled a little, touching the photo fondly with her fingers.

Every day was a step closer to graduation. Their group of friends would separate to pursue their dreams. The time they have now together was slowly coming to a close. The adventures of the adult world were still to come, but the future was unclear. Who would still be by her side? Ayano had her boyfriend, Misao's own brother, who has been together with her for five years. They would still keep in contact, of course, but the thought of rarely having her best friend by her side…it frightened her a bit.

_Cherish the moment and live for a better tomorrow. _She told herself. _Come on, Misao, don't think about that. It's too soon to get depressed._

She shook the thoughts of the future away and returned to the present. Misao headed downstairs and out the door, locking it behind her. She looked up at the sky; the sun was out, but the air was chilly enough that she could see her own breath. Hanging out at the local manga café started to sound appealing to her. Or maybe she could go and pay a visit to the Washinomiya Shrine. Then again, both of those trips involved money. She pulled out her wallet and checked inside.

_I have enough yen on me for both trips. I'll head to the manga café and spend an hour or two there. Then I'll head over to the shrine and pray for some good fortune._

With her goals set, Misao began walking. A few people were walking around, but none of them were young like her. Most of them were in suits. Would that be her as well if she pursued a career in something that involved sitting at a desk for the rest of her life? She released a heavy sigh…why was she thinking so much about the future today? It loomed over her like a rain cloud just like in those old American cartoons.

"Well if it isn't Misakichi! Hello!"

Misao turned around to see Konata Izumi, better known to her as 'Chibikko'. The blue shorty had headphones dangling around her neck instead of a scarf, but the girl wore a turtleneck sweater, so her neck wasn't completely exposed to the cold.

"What's up, Chibikko." She replied, lifting her hand up in greeting. "This explains why you weren't on."

"Yup, I figured I might as well get out of the house for a bit. My favorite shooter game is down for maintenance for four hours, so I figured why not go out for a bit to pass the time?" Konata shrugged her arms nonchalantly.

"I got out of my house because I got bored." Misao answered honestly. "That, and Ayano is out with her boyfriend."

"So where are you heading?" Konata asked.

"I was going to the nearby manga café a few blocks down and then maybe pay a visit to the Washinomiya Shrine."

"All right, I'm tagging along with you!" Konata gave a thumbs-up.

"Why would you want to hang out with me?" Misao raised an eyebrow. "What about Kagami and her sister or that girl with the amazing bust?"

"Miyuki is her name and she does have a glorious chest."

* * *

At the Takara residence, Miyuki was in the middle of grabbing her warm drink from the microwave.

"Achoo!"

She lost her grip on the cup.

"Ah! Hot! Hot!"

* * *

"-And Kagami hasn't picked up my calls, so I guess Tsukasa and her are busy." Konata finished.

"Huh…Well, since you and I don't really have anything to do now, then sure; you can tag along with me." Misao sighed, crossing her arms. "But I'm not paying for your hour at the manga café. That's money coming out of your own pocket."

"Awesome! Let's get going then. Lead the way."

The two walked together in silence. When they arrived at the café, Misao asked if the place had a tennis table room.

"Yes we do. You're in luck; most of the regulars haven't arrived yet, so there will be no one there." The female employee told her.

"Thank you." She turned to Konata. "Hey, Konata, you up for a little ping pong?"

"Sure, sounds like fun to me."

The staff member lead them to the table tennis room. Once they were alone, the two stood on opposite ends of the table. Picking up their paddles, Misao grabbed the ball, deciding to serve first.

"Are we playing casual or competitive?" Konata asked.

"We're playing casual, but only because the room's height doesn't exactly allow intense play." Misao answered, glancing around the room. "You want to play the standard match of seven rounds?"

"No thanks." Konata shook her head. "Let's just play around four rounds. That should be enough time to waste away before we have to pay for another hour of stay."

"Oh? Are you implying that you can last that long against me?" Misao smirked, feeling her competitive side showing.

"I may be on the computer all the time, but I think I can say I've got the skill to handle a ping-pong session." Konata declared proudly.

"All right then…Serve's up!"

The two went back and forth between each other. As they played, Konata sparked up a conversation.

"You know, we don't normally hang out like this." She said.

"It's because we're always with our own groups." Misao replied, "You've got your own group and I've got Ayano and sometimes Kagami when she doesn't always go over to your class."

"What can I say? I've got a winning personality that keeps on drawing her back to me."

"Well, you may have the winning personality, but…"

When the ball came back to her, she delivered a power strike, which Konata could not rebound back in time. Misao pumped her fist into the air and let out a smug grin.

"It looks like I've got the winning skills." Misao retorted as Konata picked the ball off the floor.

"Ooh…Touché."

"What's that?"

"It's French for fair enough or something like that."

* * *

The victor of the table tennis match was Misao, but it did not come so easily. True to her word, Konata did last an hour against her, even countering some of her power swings on a few occasions. It was even more impressive that she maintained her ability while still wearing her turtleneck sweater. The two opted to pay for their one hour stay and leave, choosing not to spend any more time there as people started coming in. Stepping outside, Konata sighed as the cold air hit her face.

"There's nothing better than the cold air after an intense match!" She exclaimed.

"It's even better than this?"

Konata looked at Misao and saw she had two juice bottle and candy bars in her hands.

"Oh? That's for me?" Konata pointed at herself. "I thought you said you weren't paying anything for me?"

"I didn't say that." Misao shook her head. "I said I wasn't paying for your hour stay. But if you don't want it…"

"Ah! No! What I meant to say was, um, thank you very much!"

"I thought so."

Misao and Konata walked while they drank and ate their snack.

"This is for…playing a good game with me." Misao admitted. "Ayano's not exactly the sports type of gal, you know? She's more into stuff like making sweets and window shopping."

"I'm not exactly the sports type either, but I get what you're saying. Same situation with me and Kagami; we get along pretty well, but our hobbies are totally different." Konata said.

"You're not the sports type? I can hardly believe that." Misao chuckled, shaking her head. "After seeing the way you run, I'm still amazed you've never joined the track and field club."

"Sports club responsibilities would just get in the way of my anime and gaming time." Konata shrugged her arms. "Anyways, we're heading to the Washinomiya Shrine next, right?"

"Yeah, I'm just offering up some money to the saisen." Misao said.

"I guess I can take a shot at the omikuji while you do that." Konata nodded her head.

"Yikes…I haven't done that in months since I got that curse fortune." Misao winced, remembering the misfortune that ensued the day after.

"It's all on chance, so I'll deal with whatever I get: good or bad. Who knows? Maybe I'll get a great blessing or maybe I'll get a great curse. I'll leave it up to fate."

"Well, fate can be cruel."

* * *

The Washinomiya Shrine was lively with older folks and a few foreigners. Konata quickly separated from Misao, heading towards the omikuji, which was where most of the foreigners were.

_Huh…This shrine has become awfully popular with foreigners lately. Oddly enough, they don't look like they're from America..._

Misao remembered meeting her first American foreigner, which had actually been pretty awkward for her. She tried speaking some English, but she did not speak it so well. It turned embarrassing for her when the foreigner actually spoke fluent Japanese himself, defeating Misao's purpose to speak in his language.

She waited her turn at the offering box where an old pair of women prayed together. When they finished, the two turned to each other and gave each other a handshake.

"How long have we been friends, Risa?" One asked her friend 'Risa'.

"Well, Yeren, you've been a pain in my rear since that day we met in college." Risa chuckled, shaking her head. "Hard to believe you're still here with me…but I'm glad we met."

"Likewise…Hey, let's go and see the Ema? I always love reading what people wish for."

"Sure."

The couple walked away, leaving Misao feeling a bit amazed at the conversation she just eavesdropped on. Those old folks had to be in their seventies or eighties, and since they met in college, where most people are in their twenties, that meant they've been friends together for fifty or sixty years. That was a true testament of an everlasting friendship.

"I see you've met Risa and Yeren."

Misao looked to her left to see Konata beside her with a smile on her face.

"I met them a few weeks ago myself. They're nice."

"Yeah…" Misao glanced over at the other pair briefly before looking back at Konata. "So what did you get on your fortune?"

"Ah, yeah, I got a curse." Konata scratched the back of her head, laughing nervously. "Of course it told me something about dedication to education, no surprise there. I swear these omikuji can sense my entire life's story. I guess I might as well pray too and hope the fortune here cancels the bad luck I'm about to receive."

The two offered their own five-hundred yen coins and prayed. Misao thought of her friends and more importantly, Ayano, who she hoped would live a long and happy life…and that her brother wouldn't cheat on her because she would beat the ever-loving crap out of him! She supposed she should have wished for some fortune for herself, but there was always another time. Misao opened her eyes and saw that Konata was still praying, so she waited for her to finish. Eventually, Konata opened her eyes and looked at Misao, looking surprised she finished so early.

"Oh, you finished already?"

"Yeah, you were praying pretty intensely there." Misao said, nodding her head. "I'd ask you what you were wishing for, but people always say wishes don't come true if you tell someone."

"Well…I know that this wish will come true no matter what."

Misao's curiosity peaked at this. Just what did she pray for?

"What did you pray for?" The words just ejected out of Misao's mouth.

"I prayed…for Kagami's happiness." Konata answered with a beaming smile while staring at the offering box. "I always tease her all the time, but the truth is, I really do care for her. I hope that she finds that special someone in her life and that I'll still be there with her…annoying the heck out of her like always."

Misao grinned and playfully punched the short girl's shoulder. Her respect for Konata just grew a little bigger at this.

"What an embarrassing thing to say, Chibikko, but…that's nice." Misao shook her head.

The two left the shrine, stopping just outside the entrance.

"Well, I've done all that I wanted to do today. It's been fun, Konata, but I think I'll head home now."

"Yeah, we should really hang out more often." Konata agreed. "See you tomorrow at school!"

"Later!"

Misao let out a satisfied sigh as she walked with her head high and a content smile on her face.

_Today turned out to be not so boring after all._

And the days to come would be just that.

* * *

Hello, reviewers and viewers! Wings here bringing you a random story with no significant plot or goal!

Why? BECAUSE REASONS! That is all!

Also, I am totally not having difficulties writing the next chapter for **Echoes from the Past**.

Nope. None whatsoever.

…

…

…

Okay, so maybe I am having bit of a trouble making the next chapter! I'm sure I'll bounce back soon.

…Eventually.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this random little fic. I certainly enjoyed writing it.


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